WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government will require companies with at least 100 workers to pay for the time their employees are absent to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as well as sick leave if they must recover from the effects of vaccines. a Biden administration official said Monday.
These requirements will be part of a pending federal rule detailing how large employers will meet the requirement that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for the virus.
The White House budget office has completed the revision of the standard produced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is expected to be released this week.
The rule will cover companies with 100 or more employees, regardless of how many are in a given location.
“Covered employers must develop, implement, and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless they adopt a policy that requires employees to choose between getting vaccinated or undergoing regular COVID-19 testing and wearing the face covered at work, ”a Labor Department spokesman said Monday.
Employers are also required to provide workers with paid time to get vaccinated and pay sick leave to recover from any side effects.
The official said the Office of Management and Budget completed its review of the OSHA standard on Monday, and that it will be published in the Federal Register, the official gazette of the US government, “in the next few days.”
The spokesperson declined to elaborate, saying the government “will provide further updates when we have more information.”
Separately, the government will give federal contractors broad authority over how to deal with employees who refuse to be vaccinated, according to guidelines the White House released Monday.
According to an executive order that President Joe Biden issued in September, contractors have until December 8 to ensure employees are fully vaccinated. The order has met with resistance from some workers at large companies with federal contracts, such as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Southwest’s CEO said his airline would not fire anyone for refusing vaccines.
